Blogs from Peru, South America - page 16

We were driven to Yanque to meet up again with the same group as yesterday. When we arrived, Peter said we had 10 minutes to look around as there was a local market on in the main square with local women and men (dressed as women) dancing around the central fountain. Peter explained later on that the men dressed as women is a tradition passed down from the past when families always tried to match their daughters with a rich family, so sometimes boys would disguise themselves as girls so they could go out together. After 10 minutes I couldn’t see Daisy and Peter was also looking for her as well. I assumed she was shopping and checked all the market stalls but it turned out she was just watching the dancing and Peter found her. ... read more

Up early for our 04:30 transfer to Cusco Airport. It was a little early but it wasn’t far and we got to the airport over two hours before our flight. We had coffee and pastries for breakfast at a little shop after being scared off by the prices at a larger café. The total we paid was just 18 soles compared to that amount for just one sandwich. Flight took off on time and instead of sleeping I was glued to the view I was getting from watching out the window. After initial cloud it was clear most of the way and it was fascinating watching the changing landscape as we crossed the Andes. It was only about 40 minutes in the air. It was a simple matter of paying 30 soles for an official taxi ... read more

Up at 3.25am for my Alternative Rainbow Mountain (Palccoyo) tour. It is called "Alternative" because the original Rainbow Mountain (Vinicunca) tour is now extremely popular but is also a difficult trek because of the altitude. The alternative one is actually three smaller mountains and the hike to the top is about one hour instead of 2.5 to 3 hours, so figured it was much more achievable. Whatsapp is used extensively through South America and the tour guide Carlos sent messages to each person when it was their turn for pick up. I was picked up at 04.05. First stop after 30 minutes was a Bakery where were all given some bread to share but later on at a roadhouse called Quinta Restaurant near Checacupe we had breakfast. There was an unscheduled stop along the way and ... read more

Plan today was to stay in town and check out museums and monuments but it didn’t turn out that way. We had a relaxed start and left the hotel at 09:15 to visit the Museo de Historia Regional which was very informative. It starts from pre-historic times and progresses through the years with the most interesting rooms being about the Spanish conquest and subsequent failed revolts by the Inca people. There are quite a few parallels between what happened here and what happened with the Australian Aboriginal people. After that we decided to walk to the San Pedro Church but along the way we noticed the street was full of tourist agencies and a girl approached Daisy but I decided to ask them about tours to the four Inca archaeological sites that are just out town. ... read more

Today being our only full free day in Ollantaytambo I had decided to use the day to inspect the Ollantaytambo Archaeological Park which is the major site for the town. In fact, the whole town is historic as the stone roads, walkways and all of the buildings or at part of the buildings are the same that the Incas built. It is argued that Ollantaytambo is the oldest continually inhabited town in South America and i for one would believe that. As we had the whole day, we had a relaxed start and read up about the site before getting to the park at 10:15. The weather started very sunny and warm but we noticed dark clouds coming over and it did just shower a bit during our visit. All the major sites and museums require ... read more